The Latest Breaking News from Bezalel Smotrich

Israeli leaders vowed on Monday to keep the country's conscript military free of politics after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave far-right coalition partners increased control over security forces and settlements in the occupied West Bank. While Netanyahu's conservative Likud party retained the Defense Ministry, which runs the authority that coordinates…

The hard-right religious coalition is attacking civil liberties at home and becoming an unreliable partner abroad. Its leader is endangering western support for his country, writes Simon Tisdall

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh warned Monday that Israeli sanctions on the Palestinian Authority “will promptly lead to its collapse.” Speaking to Haaretz, Shtayyeh was referring to the retaliatory sanctions the Israeli cabinet imposed over the weekend on the PA, including seizing 140 million shekels ($39 million) in tax revenues.…

The next generation of Israelis are becoming increasingly religious, and the new government represents that change

Israel’s new goverment is the most right-wing and religious leadership the country has had in the 75 years of its existence, as many observers have pointed out. And this style of leadership may last because it represents the next generation of Israelis.

Netanyahu government is coalition of the most extreme right-wing and religious parties in the history of the state

Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies.

Israel's sharp tilt to what is likely to be the most hard right government in its history puts its new Arab allies in the awkward position of having to deal with ultra-nationalists while trying to do more than just pay lip service to the Palestinian cause.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister in the government of newly appointed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will seek to boost competition in the economy as the country faces higher inflation and rising interest rates.